Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to designate, establish, and operate at selected Department of Veterans Affairs health-care facilities: (1) at least six centers for Parkinson's disease research, education, and clinical activities; and (2) at least two Multiple Sclerosis Centers of Excellence.
Requires the Under Secretary for Health to: (1) assure appropriate geographical distribution of such facilities; and (2) establish a panel to assess the scientific and clinical merit of proposals submitted by a facility for the establishment of such a center.
[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1537 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
109th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1537
To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for the establishment
of Parkinson's Disease Research Education and Clinical Centers in the
Veterans Health Administration of the Department of Veterans Affairs
and Multiple Sclerosis Centers of Excellence.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 28, 2005
Mr. Akaka introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for the establishment
of Parkinson's Disease Research Education and Clinical Centers in the
Veterans Health Administration of the Department of Veterans Affairs
and Multiple Sclerosis Centers of Excellence.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. PARKINSON'S DISEASE RESEARCH, EDUCATION, CLINICAL CENTERS,
AND MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE.
(a) Requirement for Establishment of Centers.--
(1) In general.--Subchapter II of chapter 73 of title 38,
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``Sec. 7329. Parkinson's disease research, education, and clinical
centers and multiple sclerosis centers of excellence
``(a) Designation.--The Secretary, upon the recommendation of the
Under Secretary for Health and pursuant to the provisions of this
section, shall--
``(1) designate--
``(A) at least 6 Department health care facilities
as the locations for centers of Parkinson's disease
research, education, and clinical activities and
(subject to the appropriation of sufficient funds for
such purpose); and
``(B) at least 2 Department health care facilities
as the locations for Multiple Sclerosis Centers of
Excellence (subject to the appropriation of sufficient
funds for such purpose); and
``(2) establish and operate such centers at such locations
in accordance with this section.
``(b) Existing Facilities; Geographic Distribution.--In designating
locations for centers under subsection (a), the Secretary, upon the
recommendation of the Under Secretary for Health, shall--
``(1) designate each Department health care facility that,
as of January 1, 2005, was operating a Parkinson's Disease
Research, Education, and Clinical Center or a Multiple
Sclerosis Center of Excellence unless the Secretary, on the
recommendation of the Under Secretary for Health, determines
that such facility--
``(A) does not meet the requirements of subsection
(c);
``(B) has not demonstrated effectiveness in
carrying out the established purposes of such center;
or
``(C) has not demonstrated the potential to carry
out such purposes effectively in the reasonably
foreseeable future; and
``(2) assure appropriate geographic distribution of such
facilities.
``(c) Minimum Requirements.--The Secretary may not designate a
health care facility as a location for a center under subsection (a)
unless--
``(1) the peer review panel established under subsection
(d) determines that the proposal submitted by such facility is
among those proposals which meet the highest competitive
standards of scientific and clinical merit; and
``(2) the Secretary, upon the recommendation of the Under
Secretary for Health, determines that the facility has (or may
reasonably be anticipated to develop)--
``(A) an arrangement with an accredited medical
school which provides education and training in
neurology and with which such facility is affiliated
under which residents receive education and training in
innovative diagnosis and treatment of chronic
neurodegenerative diseases and movement disorders,
including Parkinson's disease, or in the case of
Multiple Sclerosis Centers, multiple sclerosis disease;
``(B) the ability to attract the participation of
scientists who are capable of ingenuity and creativity
in health-care research efforts;
``(C) a policymaking advisory committee composed of
consumers and appropriate health care and research
representatives of the facility and of the affiliated
school or schools to advise the directors of such
facility and such center on policy matters pertaining
to the activities of such center during the period of
the operation of such center;
``(D) the capability to conduct effectively
evaluations of the activities of such center;
``(E) the capability to coordinate, as part of an
integrated national system, education, clinical, and
research activities within all facilities with such
centers;
``(F) the capability to jointly develop a
consortium of providers with interest in treating
neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson's
disease, and other movement disorders, or multiple
sclerosis in the case of Multiple Sclerosis Centers, at
facilities without such centers in order to ensure
better access to state of the art diagnosis, care, and
education for neurodegenerative disorders, or in the
case of Multiple Sclerosis Centers, autoimmune disease
affecting the central nervous system throughout the
health care system; and
``(G) the capability to develop a national
repository in the health care system for the collection
of data on health services delivered to veterans
seeking care for neurodegenerative diseases, including
Parkinson's disease, and other movement disorders, or
in the case of Multiple Sclerosis Centers, autoimmune
disease affecting the central nervous system.
``(d) Panel.--(1) The Under Secretary for Health shall establish a
panel to assess the scientific and clinical merit of proposals that are
submitted to the Secretary for the establishment of new centers under
this section.
``(2)(A) The membership of the panel shall consist of experts in
neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson's disease and other
movement disorders, and, in the case of Multiple Sclerosis Centers,
experts in autoimmune disease affecting the central nervous system.
``(B) Members of the panel shall serve as consultants to the
Department for a period of no longer than 2 years except in the case of
panelists asked to serve on the initial panel as specified in
subparagraph (C).
``(C) In order to ensure panel continuity, half of the members of
the first panel shall be appointed for a period of 3 years and half for
a period of 2 years.
``(3) The panel shall review each proposal submitted to the panel
by the Under Secretary and shall submit its views on the relative
scientific and clinical merit of each such proposal to the Under
Secretary.
``(4) The panel shall not be subject to the Federal Advisory
Committee Act.
``(e) Adequate Funding.--Before providing funds for the operation
of any such center at a health care facility other than a health care
facility designated under subsection (b)(1), the Secretary shall ensure
that--
``(1) the Parkinson's disease center at each facility
designated under subsection (b)(1) is receiving adequate
funding to enable such center to function effectively in the
areas of Parkinson's disease research, education, and clinical
activities; and
``(2) in the case of a new Multiple Sclerosis Center, that
existing centers are receiving adequate funding to enable such
centers to function effectively in the areas of multiple
sclerosis research, education, and clinical activities.
``(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--(1) There are authorized to
be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for the support of the
research and education activities of the centers established under
subsection (a).
``(2) The Under Secretary for Health shall allocate to such centers
from other funds appropriated generally for the Department medical
services account and medical and prosthetics research account, as
appropriate, such amounts as the Under Secretary for Health determines
appropriate.
``(g) Funding Eligibility and Priority for Parkinson's Disease
Research.--Activities of clinical and scientific investigation at each
center established under subsection (a) for Parkinson's disease shall--
``(1) be eligible to compete for the award of funding from
funds appropriated for the Department medical and prosthetics
research account; and
``(2) receive priority in the award of funding from such
account to the extent funds are awarded to projects for
research in Parkinson's disease and other movement disorders.
``(h) Funding Eligibility and Priority for Multiple Sclerosis
Research.--Activities of clinical and scientific investigation at each
center established under subsection (a) for multiple sclerosis shall--
``(1) be eligible to compete for the award of funding from
funds appropriated for the Department medical and prosthetics
research account; and
``(2) receive priority in the award of funding from such
account to the extent funds are awarded to projects for
research in multiple sclerosis and other movement disorders.''.
(2) Clerical amendment.--The table of sections at the
beginning of chapter 73 of title 38, United States Code, is
amended by inserting after the item relating to section 7328
the following:
``Sec. 7329. Parkinson's disease research, education, and clinical
centers and multiple sclerosis centers of
excellence.''.
(b) Effective Date.--Section 7329 of title 38, United States Code,
as added by subsection (a), shall take effect on October 1, 2005.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S9297-9298)
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. (text of measure as introduced: CR S9298)
Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held.
Llama 3.2 · runs locally in your browser
Ask anything about this bill. The AI reads the full text to answer.
Enter to send · Shift+Enter for new line